Former Manchester City player Trevor Sinclair believes Rio Ferdinand 'overstepped the line' in his recent criticism of Phil Jones.
Battling a long injury lay-off, Manchester United defender Jones was recently instructed by Ferdinand to go and find himself a new club.
"I am baffled at how he’s still been given a new deal at the club given his past few years at the club," his former teammate stated. "I remember back in the day you’d have to do some absolute graft to get a new deal.
"You’d have to be putting in performances, you’d have to be a vital member of the team. Phil Jones isn’t that.
"He’s done well. Listen, good luck to him if you can get it. Staying at Man United is a great gig, but I look at him as a person, are you really going to be happy sitting there all these years?"
According to the former England international Trevor Sinclair, Ferdinand's criticism went too far.
"Of course he (Jones) is going to accept (the new contract)," Sinclair remarked to talkSPORT. "He probably has aspirations of getting into the first team.
"I look at Phil Jones I see a player that has been crippled with injuries over the years, all different kind of injuries as well.
"I don't see a bad egg, I look at him, I think he looks like a good pro, he's not going to cause lots of problems, he's got a family, he's got kids, he needs to try and maximise the amount of finance he earns in his career.
"Why would he turn down a contract of Manchester United? I think the only people that need to be criticised are the people that offered him the contract because it has not worked out again."
Regarding Rio Ferdinand and his willingness to openly criticise his former teammate, Sinclair isn't impressed.
"For Rio to come out and criticise him and say he should leave the club and he's holding down an academy player's opportunity to go into the first team," he stated, "I'm not happy with Rio about that.
"I think he stepped over the line for me."
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